


Bumps in the Road

by moststeph



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, M/M, Tarsus IV, country doctor!bones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 20:22:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20197609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moststeph/pseuds/moststeph
Summary: Bones is a country doctor. Jim is road tripping around the country. He takes a spill, and Bones is there to help.





	Bumps in the Road

Leonard was sitting on the couch, wondering for what felt like the fiftieth time this week what he was going to do with his day, when someone knocked on the door. It was far too early for Scotty to be done with work, busy as he was, and who else would come to visit? 

"No one just shows up anymore anyway,” Len thought grumpily as he dragged himself across the sitting room. “It’s the 23rd century, for Christ’s sake.” He rubbed his eyes blearily as he pulled the door open.

He quickly took in a nice pair of legs in dark jeans, an even nicer torso in a grey t-shirt and black leather jacket, before coming to rest on a shockingly beautiful face framed by blond hair with arresting blue eyes. Above those eyes, however, was a truly impressive gash.

“Good God kid, what happened?” he asked, immediately taking the kid’s arm and ushering him inside. The kid was holding a blood stained napkin, Len noticed, which had clearly been his temporary fix for the deep cut on his forehead. Leonard guided the kid to the easy chair and quickly went to the kitchen to grab his medkit. He pulled the ottoman up in front of the chair and started pulling anti-bac and other bits and pieces out of it. 

“What’s your name?”

“Jim.”  


“What happened, Jim?”

“I was driving a little ways down the road and I hit something, I think maybe a rock?” Jim winced as Len dabbed at the cut with anti-bac gel. “Not sure how it happened to be honest, but I ended up in a ditch and I just got out and walked until I came to your place.” Len tossed the used gauze aside and put a fresh one on the kid’s - Jim’s - forehead. “I guess I just wasn’t paying attention.”   


“The roads aren’t so great around here,” Len said. “Can you tell me what day it is?” Jim looked at him flippantly. 

“It’s June 20th,” he said petulantly. 

“Don’t get snotty, kid,” Len said sharply. “Cut this deep, I’m worried what might’ve happened to that tiny brain of yours.” 

“Hey!”

  
  
“Look the roads around here aren’t great, but how do you miss a rock that knocks you off the road?” 

Jim looked down and muttered something that sounded vaguely like, “what do _ you _ know.” Len ignored it and pulled the gauze aside. The bleeding had slowed but it would need stitches. He pulled a needle and thread from the kit, sliding the string through the eye in one easy motion. 

“Uh, are you sure you’re qualified to do this?” The kid sounded skeptical. 

“Don’t worry.” Len flashed him his best Trust Me smile. “I’m a doctor.” Jim still looked skeptical but sat still as Len gently rubbed local anesthetic onto the cut. He hissed slightly at the contact.   


“I know, sorry,” Len said. “But now you won’t feel a thing.” He got to work, carefully threading the needle through the edge of the cut.

“Um…”

“Yeah?”  


“Since you have a needle in my face, I feel like I should know your name.” 

“Oh. McCoy. Leonard McCoy.” 

“Thanks, Leonard.” Jim’s voice was sincere. 

“You’re welcome,” Len returned gruffly, then settled into silence as he carefully stitched up the beautiful man’s forehead. He finished quickly, giving it one more swipe of anti-bac before turning to put the medkit away. Jim started to fidget on the chair, as if given permission to move now that the procedure was over. His eyes roamed around the room, taking in the dusty and outdated furnishings. Len found himself feeling a bit self-conscious, which was new. He’d never given a damn what visitors had thought before. Then again, the only visitor he’d really had was Scotty.

“How long have you lived here?” Jim asked suddenly. 

“Well,” Len quickly ran through the timeline in his head. “About six months. Well, I grew up in this house, but I haven’t lived here in years. I came back after my wife--” he cut the sentence off quickly. The kid’s face softened. 

“Oh. I’m sorry,” he said. It didn’t feel like a platitude. It felt like he meant it.

“Yeah, well,” Len said shortly, turning to face the medkit as he finished packing it up. “Lucky for you I did.” 

“Yeah,” Jim said, reaching up to his forehead. 

“Don’t touch it!” Len snapped, slapping at his hand. Jim snatched his hand back, looking half perturbed and half amused. “Anti-bac does its bit but no need for extra contamination.” 

“Fine, fine,” Jim said, raising his hands in mock surrender. 

“You feel steady enough to walk?” 

“Oh, yeah.”

  
  
“All right, let's take a look at this car of yours.” 

\---

They chatted as they walked the quarter mile to where Jim had run off the road. He was from Iowa, road-tripping around the country for lack of anything better to do. How did Len know all this stuff? Well he’d been a doctor in Atlanta, at one of the major hospitals, but the stress and losing his father had thrown a wrench into the works. Threw himself into the hospital as a result, wife had not taken kindly to it, and so here he was, without hospital or wife. Jim listened sympathetically, making the right comments at the right places. It was comforting, somehow. Len hadn’t told the story to anyone but Scotty until now, and it felt like a weight hadn't been lifted, exactly, but lessened. A little easier to carry. And Jim had a smile that could melt a glacier on Delta Vega, so Len didn’t mind. Finally they reached the car and Leonard let out a low whistle.

“Is that a 2153 Mustang?” he asked, circling the admittedly rather damaged car. 

“Yeah,” Jim said. There wasn’t pride in his voice so much as guilt. Len looked up at him. “It’s not, _ mine _, exactly. I...borrowed it.” 

  
Len knew better than to ask questions about that. He circled the car, taking in the various scrapes, crunched parts, and bits on the ground. He kneeled next to the hood, gingerly lifting it up to peek at the engine. 

“Yep,” he said finally, standing up and pulling his comm from his pocket. “This is a job for Scotty.” 

“Who’s Scotty?” Jim asked, but Len was already speaking into the comm.

“What can ye want, Bones?”

  
  
“Scotty, I need a hand.”

“Ah, don’t ye always. What is it?”

  
  
“2153 Mustang.”

Silence met this information.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’ve just got to get me heart going again. What’s wrong with it?” 

“Took a spill about a quarter mile from my place. You got time?”

Scotty sighed in a rush of static.

“I don’t know, Len. I’ve a whole party of motorcycles here, passing through town and they all need tune ups.” 

“C’mon, Scotty, for me.” 

“.....I s’pose I could find some time.” 

“Good man. I owe you one.”

“Add it to the list,” Scotty said, and ended the call. Leonard shoved the comm in his pocket and looked up at Jim.

“Well, Scotty can take a look at it. It’ll be a little bit.” Leonard paused. Then, almost without his mind’s permission, he said, “I can run back home and grab some beers? We can have them out here while we wait.” Jim grinned. 

“Am I allowed to have alcohol after such a traumatic event?” he asked, his eyes dancing.

“Hell yes. Doctor’s orders,” Len gave a small smile as he climbed up the embankment to the kid. Jim took his hand and pulled him up the last few steps, causing Len to stumble and almost knock into him. There was a palpable tension as Jim kept hold of his hand for a moment, looking directly into his eyes as their faces came within inches of each other. 

“Great,” Jim said. “I’m thirsty.”

\---

It was Leonard’s turn to interrogate Jim after he returned and they waited for Scotty. Whose car was it, exactly? Jim grimaced.

“My stepdad’s,” he said. “When I was about, oh, 12? I wrecked his last one. God, he was so pissed. He…” Jim cut off abruptly, his eyes going flat for a second. He shook it off and continued, “Anyway. He loves classic cars. I stole this one when I decided to road trip around the country.” The grin he gave Leonard should not have been as attractive as it was. 

“So you’re running away,” Leonard said.

“What, like you’re not? Leave everything in Atlanta and come here?” Jim answered, challenging. 

“Keep saying things like that and you’ll talk yourself right out of another beer,” Leonard said, giving Jim his best Stern Doctor Look. Jim laughed. 

"You couldn’t refuse me.” 

Len let his eyes roam in a leisurely fashion from Jim’s boots to the top of his gorgeous face. Even with stitches across his forehead, he was beautiful. 

“Maybe,” Leonard allowed. The two of them lapsed into silence, staring off into the distance. 

“So, road trip around the country,” Len said after a minute or so. He’d normally be fine with quiet, but something about this kid made him want to talk. “No job to leave behind, then?”

“Nah,” Jim took a sip of his beer. “I did some odd jobs around town, but didn’t really know what to do with myself after high school.” 

“Not interested in college?” 

“Didn’t seem like it was somewhere I’d really fit in.” 

“Fair enough.” Silence fell between them again.

“I want to do something, though,” said Jim, digging his toe into the dirt. “Something that helps people.” Len said nothing. “Why’d you become a doctor?” 

Len sighed. “Sort of the same reason,” he said, fiddling with the tab on his beer can. “My old man was a doc too, so it seemed the logical thing to do. What about yours?” Jim’s grip on his beer can tightened slightly.

“He was in Starfleet.”

Len’s eyebrows shot up. “Hell of a career. Didn’t think about joining up yourself?”

“No.”

Len shut up.

“He died on his ship.”

Len shut up more. Jim was digging in the dirt again, the toe of his boot pushing a semi-circle of dark dirt up along the steel-toed tip. 

“Day I was born, actually. So I never knew him. Just heard stories.”

“I’m sorry,” Len said, and he meant it. Losing his father had been hard enough, given the circumstances. He couldn’t imagine having grown up without one at all. “And sorry your stepdad was an asshole.” Jim stopped digging and turned to Leonard, giving him a small but genuine smile. 

“Thanks. At least he made me want to get the fuck out of that town, and that’s why I’m here now. So lucky me.” Jim’s eyes met his. Len felt a small, tentative warmth spread across his chest. His eyes flickered to Jim’s lips just as a voice cried out,

“There ye are!” 

Scotty made his way over, introduced himself and regaled them with stories of the parade of motorcycles in his shop. He charmed Jim, as he did everyone, and Len found himself enjoying their conversation as he hung back, keeping quiet. Scotty tsk’d and muttered to himself nas he circled the Mustang, eventually pronouncing it in need of overnight care in his shop. Scotty winched the mustang to his truck and bid them farewell with Jim’s comm number in his pocket, promising to let him know as soon as it was done. Jim and Len refused his offer of a ride and walked back to Leonard’s house, pausing on the porch outside the front door.

“Um,” Leonard started, then broke off in a cough and cleared his throat. “I, uh - well there’s just the one hotel in town.” Was he imagining it, or did Jim look disappointed? 

“Oh, yeah, I should go grab a room then,” Jim said, starting to pull on his jacket. 

“Do you want to stay for dinner?”

The words were out of his mouth before his brain had time to process them. 

“I mean, uh, I have a couple steaks in the fridge and there’s not much of a restaurant at the hotel, is all.” Jim’s face broke into a broad grin. 

“Got a few more beers in there too?” he asked.

“Definitely.”

\---

Leonard threw the steaks on the little grill on the porch after grabbing a fresh round of beers from the fridge. Jim hovered by the grill as Len worked, asking the occasional question but mostly content to observe Leonard and drink his beer. Normally Len would’ve felt uncomfortable with so much attention, but with Jim it didn’t feel like he was being scrutinized. The kid was just there. It felt pretty nice, if Len was being honest with himself. 

“Well they should be good for a bit,” he said, closing the grill lid. He joined Jim where he was sitting on the porch railing. The kid smiled at him in a way that made Len’s heart catch. 

“Do you miss being a doctor?” he asked suddenly.

“Parts of it. Other parts...not so much.” Jim nodded. 

“Guess you see a lot you don’t want to, even with all the saving lives.” 

“Yeah.” Leonard took a swig of his beer, shoving the memories down. He dropped his gaze from Jim to the dirt in front of his house. A hand, calloused but with soft fingertips, came up under his chin and moved gently up his cheek. Len looked up to find the hand’s owner looking at him softly, and his face close to his own. Jim had reached with confidence, but Len could feel the way his hand shook against his face. 

A million thoughts were running through Len’s head as he looked into those bewitchingly blue eyes. He was too old, too fucked up for this. Jim deserved someone fresh and new. But how long had it been since he’d allowed himself something he wanted?

“Oh hell,” he muttered, and moved forward to press his lips against Jim’s.

It was so good Len thought he must be dreaming - the way Jim hummed as their lips met, the way his mouth opened to Leonard’s tongue. Len rumbled and raised his hands to Jim’s face, pulling him up off the railing so they were standing together, every inch of their bodies pressed together. Jim pulled back slightly to kiss his way down Leonard’s unshaven jaw, moving his lips to Len’s neck. Len let his head roll back, eyes closed, as he ran his hand up Jim’s neck and into his hair, pulling gently at it. Jim let out a little gasp as he did that went straight to Leonard’s cock. He couldn’t believe this was happening, completely lost in the sensation of Jim against him, when suddenly he smelled burning steak. 

“SHIT,” he snapped, tearing himself away from the livewire in his arms to throw the grill top up and rescue the now well-done steaks. “Well, shit. Hope you like your steak tough.” 

Jim laughed easily. “I’m hungry enough to eat a shoe.” 

“Well I hope they’re not _ that _done,” Len said, looking up from the steaks. Jim smiled at him and it was like staring at the sun. 

“Worth it,” Len said as he grabbed Jim's shirt to reel him in and kiss him again. 

\---

They ate on the porch instead of in the dusty dining room, enjoying the breeze and the colors the sunset spread across the sky. Jim kept looking at Len like he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Leonard nearly blushed under the attention, dropping his eyes to his plate in response each time. He’d never been one to be coy but he didn’t know how to handle this gorgeous being who for some reason thought he was worth kissing. They finished their meal mostly in silence.

“Well,” Jim said as he set his plate down, cocking an eyebrow at Len. He didn’t need more invitation than that. 

Len shoved his chair back and pulled Jim out of his, kissing him soundly and cupping Jim’s face in his wide hands. Jim responded enthusiastically, running his hands from the sides of Leonard’s torso down to his ass. He gave it a squeeze and Len chuckled into the kiss.

“Like what you’ve got there?”

“I’ve been admiring it all day.”

“I know what you mean,” Len rumbled as he moved to kiss down Jim’s neck, digging his hand into Jim’s hair to pull his head gently back and expose more of that beautiful neck. Jim let out a small moan and gripped at Leonard’s hips. 

“Bedroom?” he asked breathily.

“Hell yes,” Len practically growled. 

The next few minutes were a hurried rush of kissing, trying to walk while kissing, smacking into a couple door frames while kissing with Jim laughing and Len swearing, then kissing again as they finally made it into Len’s small bedroom. Jim fell onto the bed with a small “oof,” reaching up to tug his t-shirt over his head. Len followed suit then climbed on top of Jim, kissing his way up the younger man’s chest then claiming his mouth again. Jim ran his hands all over Leonard’s back, gripping at his shoulders like he couldn’t get close enough. Suddenly he rolled his hips and pressed his hard cock against Len’s. Leonard groaned and immediately started to fumble with Jim’s fly, eventually giving up and letting Jim take care of it while he pulled his own jeans off. Then he was pressing back against Jim, and it was so good, it was perfect, all gasps and heated skin pressed to skin. Jim slid his hands under Leonard’s waistband to stroke his hard cock and Len moaned aloud.

“Fuck, Jim!" 

  
“Yeah, that’s the idea.”

“Smartass,” Len said, smiling. 

“Do you have--”

“Yeah, let me--” Len dragged himself away from the most tempting thing he’d ever had in his bed to fumble at his nightstand. The operation was made significantly more difficult by the fact that Jim kept pressing kisses to his chest as he held himself above him to pull open the drawer of the little table. After some rummaging he found a condom and a bottle of lube, and quickly returned to kissing Jim properly until Jim pulled back and shoved his briefs down. Len quickly mirrored him, rolling to his side. He propped himself up on his elbow next to Jim, uncapping the lube. He paused, uncertain.

“Did you want to…?” he asked, offering the lube to Jim instead.

  
“No, no. As long as you don’t mind doing the work,” Jim gave him a cheeky grin.

  
“It would be my pleasure, darlin,” Len assured him, quickly coating his fingers. Jim rolled onto his stomach, spreading his legs and turning so he faced Leonard. 

“Yeah, that’s good. Want to see you while I open you up," Len murmured as he trailed his lube-coated fingers down Jim's spine, making him shiver. Jim gave a low moan, letting it grow louder as Len carefully slid a finger inside him. Jim exhaled shakily as Leonard started to move the finger slowly in and out.

"You're so fucking beautiful," Leonard said, drinking in the sight of Jim clutching at the pillow, his face twisted in pleasure. Jim reached a hand out to pull Leonard down and kissed him. Len took the opportunity to slide a second finger in alongside the first, devouring the groan spilling into his mouth. Len fingered Jim slowly, the two of them panting hotly against each other's lips. Leonard added a third finger and started to go deeper with each thrust, brushing against Jim's prostate. Jim keened and whimpered until he finally gasped,

“Fuck, I can’t take it any more, I've got to have you inside me," Len shivered at the need in Jim’s voice. He pulled his fingers out and nudged Jim to roll over. Jim quickly obliged, and Leonard settled between his legs, sliding his hands reverently down the sides of Jim's thighs. He took his cock in hand, quickly rolling on the condom and lined up with Jim's beautiful ass. He looked at Jim for confirmation and he gave him a little nod. 

Len pushed slowly into Jim, both of them groaning as he bottomed out. Len leaned down to kiss Jim as he started to move, and Jim smiled into the kiss. After a moment Len started to thrust in earnest, turning Jim's smile into a gasping open mouth. Jim, it turned out, was vocal in bed.

"God, fuck, _ yes, Len _\--" And how could Leonard stay quiet at that? 

"You look so fucking good,” he grunted as he snapped his hips forward. “Feel amazing, Jim.” 

And he did. Len was lost in that tight, wet heat, Jim’s moans, the way Jim’s eyes fluttered shut. Len leaned down and kissed him, savoring each touch and sound like it was the last he might ever get. He could feel his orgasm building, so he reached down to stroke Jim’s cock, bobbing between them. Jim keened and licked into his mouth. 

“You gonna come for me, darlin?” Len asked against Jim’s mouth. “I know you want to.” 

“_ Fuck _, yes, please, I’m so close,” Jim panted. He screwed his eyes shut. “Just give it to me.”

Len buried his face in Jim’s neck and threw aside his remaining shred of self control, thrusting deep into Jim as he worked his cock. Jim came, gasping Leonard’s name, and Len followed soon after. He stayed inside Jim for a moment, both of them breathing heavily. Len kissed Jim gently as he pulled out, both of them groaning at the loss of connection. Len quickly pulled the condom off and staggered to the bathroom to toss it and get a washcloth. He collapsed back onto the bed next to Jim, who was looking absolutely spent and completely happy. Jim rolled over and threw his arm over him as Leonard wiped them both down. He hummed happily as Len tossed the washcloth aside and stroked his arm lying across his broad chest. 

“You all right, kid?” Len asked sleepily. Jim smiled up at him from where he was nestled against his side. 

  
“Yeah,” he said, sounding equally sleepy. “You?” Len pressed a kiss to Jim’s forehead. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah.”

\---

  


Len’s eyes flickered open, inevitably, around 3 AM. He rolled over and groped for his chrono. Finding it and holding it close to his face, he read the obnoxiously bright blue numbers: 3:07. 

“Fuck,” Len muttered blearily, rolling over to look at the beautiful man sleeping next to him. He couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke Jim’s hair off his forehead. He looked even younger asleep, his brow unlined and unworried.

Len sighed and got out of bed, ready to follow his usual insomnia routine. He fumbled on the floor for sweatpants and pulled them on, making his way to the kitchen. He filled the tea kettle and pulled a well-worn mug from the cupboard, noting with dismay that he needed to stock up on sleepytime tea again. He ran a hand over his face, mostly happy from the evening’s events but still weary of his perpetual insomnia. He stood in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the dark view of the street from the kitchen window.

A sudden noise behind him made him start. Jim padded softly into the kitchen in his boxer briefs. He came up to Len and kissed him sleepily, smiling as he pulled back and moved to sit on one of the stools at the counter. Len grabbed a second mug from the cupboard and pulled the kettle from the stove to add more water. 

“Didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked. 

“No,” Jim said, and yawned. “I tend to not sleep well.”

“Because you’re away from home?” 

“No, just...I don’t sleep very well.”

“Me neither. Had insomnia since undergrad."  


Silence fell, and they watched the blue flame flicker under the kettle. 

“I have nightmares.”

"Oh? That’s tough,” Len said.

Silence fell again. 

“Did you ever hear about…” Jim began, then cut off and shook his head. Len looked at him as he stared at the floor. He didn’t want to pry, but Jim was clearly on the verge of deciding whether or not to say something. Len stayed quiet, the way he had when Jim mentioned his father.

“Tarsus IV.” 

Len’s blood ran cold.

“Yeah.”

Jim smiled bitterly.

“My stepdad sent me there after I wrecked his car,” Jim explained. “Talked my mom into it, said I needed to be taught a lesson. Learn discipline. I was at a reformatory school there until I was fourteen. Then the fungus…” He broke off. He took a deep breath and continued, “Only nine people survived. You’re looking at one of them.” 

Len stayed silent. Saying ‘I’m sorry’ seemed so laughably inadequate, it wasn’t worth saying. Instead he moved slowly, gently into Jim’s space, wrapping his arms around Jim’s waist. He kissed Jim’s temple, then the middle of his forehead, then his cheek. Len pressed their foreheads together - not hard because there were still stitches in it, but enough pressure for Jim to know that he was there. Jim let out a shaky breath and a small smile crept across his face. 

“You really take this bedside manner thing seriously, huh?” He laughed ruefully. “Sorry, you’ve gotten both my daddy issues and my childhood trauma in twenty-four hours. I guess there’s something about knowing I’ll never see you again that makes me feel like I can say it.”

Len’s heart clenched at that. He’d known from the start that Jim was just passing through, but it hurt to hear it said out loud. He didn’t want this to end. 

“Jim,” Len said, pulling back. Blue eyes met his own - a little guarded, but with possibility. “It’s all right,” Len continued, leaning forward to press his lips to Jim’s. It wasn’t all right. How could things ever be all right? But here Jim was, real and whole and warm under his hands. That wasn’t all right, but it was something. Len put his hand to the back of Jim’s neck and pulled him closer, hoping he put all of that he couldn’t say into the kiss. Jim’s hands came up to hold onto his shoulders as if to say _ I understand. Thank you. _The kettle began to whistle. They both ignored it.

\---

“So stay out of any ditches and ye should be fine,” Scotty finished, his eyes dancing as he grinned at Jim. Jim rolled his eyes in response. Bones smiled too. He and Jim had walked over to Scotty’s shop after some truly phenomenal morning sex and a leisurely breakfast. Jim had declared his scrambled eggs the best in the nation, and Len had tried very hard not to be melancholy as he thought about Jim leaving today.

“Thanks for the hot tip,” Jim said, laughing as he shook Scotty’s hand. “What do I owe you?”

  
“Ach, no,” Scotty said, waving him off. “Anything for a friend of Bones.” 

“Bones?” Jim looked quizzically at Leonard. Len sighed and gave Scotty a look. 

“Short for sawbones - you know, like they used to call doctors,” he explained. “Thankfully I get to work with regenerators, not saws.”

Jim chuckled. “I like it. It suits you,” he said, his eyes fond on Leonard. “But I insist, you basically rebuilt my car.” Len smiled fondly at them both as they haggled over a fair price. Finally they shook hands and Scotty clapped Jim on the shoulder. 

“Take care now lad,” he said as he did. Jim tried to laugh it off a little but was clearly touched by the mechanic’s sincerity. Len waved goodbye to Scotty as he and Jim went outside into the sunshine. 

“Well,” Leonard said for lack of any better words coming to mind. He looked at Jim’s car, good as new and felt a twinge of disappointment. Couldn’t Scotty have taken a little longer on the repairs? He was too damned good at his job. "Guess you'll be hitting the road again then."

"Yeah, guess so," Jim said. He made no move for the car. "Thanks for everything." His eyes were gentle as he looked at Leonard. He stepped slowly into Len's space and his hands came up to frame Leonard's still unshaven jaw. Their lips met, softly at first, then harder, with a hint of desperation. Len clung to Jim's back, his hands twisting his t-shirt, and tried not to let the hollowness he was starting to feel take over. He'd known from the moment he first kissed Jim that their time together was limited. But he still didn't want it to end. 

Jim pulled back and rested his forehead against Leonard's. He chuckled ruefully and said,

"Why does it feel like I'm leaving part of me behind?" 

Len's heart caught in his throat. He pulled back to look into those heartbreaking eyes and struggled to find words. He couldn't. Jim cupped his cheek and smiled at him. He kissed him softly one more time, then pulled slowly out of his embrace. 

"See ya, Bones," he said, and walked to his car, starting the engine and pulling onto the road. The world already felt a bit dimmer.

\---

Len stared at the blank television screen and wondered what he was going to do for the rest of this day. Hell, for the rest of his life. Jim had awoken something in him and he didn't want to spend his days in this dusty house anymore. He wanted something different. Something new. 

As if the universe had heard him, there was a knock at his door. Len's stomach jumped as he tried to tell himself it must be Scotty. Or a delivery. Or someone else. Not him.

But it was. Len pulled the door open and there Jim stood, as real and solid as could be. He smiled at Leonard, and if both of them had slightly red eyes, they didn't mention it. 

"Did you forget something?" Len asked with careful casualness.

"No," Jim said, his smile turning cheeky. "I just realized I wasn't really in all that much of a rush to see Atlanta. Unless, maybe, you wanted to show me around some time?"

Len put his arms around that slim waist and pulled Jim to him. He kissed him like nothing in the world had ever made him happier. And maybe, he realized, nothing had.

"I'd love to."

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to Róisín as always for being the incredible editor and friend she is! check out her writing at TheBiFromUNCLE


End file.
